Enterprise Hurricane Preps

Several Enterprise department heads attended a national hurricane conference in Orlando this week. The purpose was to prepare communities in the event of a major storm making landfall in the area.

Several federal officials drilled home the point that homeowners are responsible for fending for themselves and their families at least for the first 72 hours following a major storm event.

Enterprise Public Works Director Bill Shelton says that means having an adequate supply of non-perishable food and water. He says history proves city employees perform better if they know their families are out of harm's way.

A point echoed during an emergency preparation session involving several sectors of the community that would be involved in getting life back to normal following a hurricane.

Coffee County EMA director John Tallas says the state has been talking of using the community colleges as an evacuation shelter.

"The junior colleges will be designed for bus evacuees, so if they evacuate people out they'll go to junior colleges. First going to schools in northern Alabama, middle, and then us because we have to do that," said Talls.

In the event of a hurricane along Florida’s Gulf Coast, officials say Enterprise and the Wiregrass would most likely face the threat of tornados and torrential rainfall.

Last week’s conference in Orlando was attended by the top officials of FEMA and several other governmental agencies.

A noted hurricane forecaster says we can expect 17 storms during this year's Atlantic hurricane season. William Gray of Colorado State University says nine of the storms will turn into hurricanes.

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